Dragoncrest Cliffs winter hit me, hiroshima

Awkward post is awkward? @Blixen

Her arrival in Drageda, in ways, has been for naught. She’d been taken from her home under the expectation of becoming a leader but their Heda is alive and healing. The next step in her training is set aside as she begins the attempt and settling in and getting accustomed to how Drageda runs differently from her former home and the tension in the air since her arrival hasn’t helped. A handful of wolves are missing from their borders, it seems, and she doesn’t know exactly where she fits into the equation anymore. Eventually, her training will pick bac up but until then she lets things fall into place as she familiarizes herself in due time.

In an attempt to keep herself busy, Ajatar finds herself on the borders, finding the gaps in their markings and strengthening it but otherwise her presence is nothing more than a whisper as she travels.

this is... also awkward. haha

 she's getting stronger and she can tell, and she throws herself into her training without looking back. who has time to deal with emotions or problems or fears or doubts or troubled personal histories when they're busy working towards being so strong that nothing bad will ever happen to anyone in their family again, am i right?

when she's not training with nomi, blix tracks the borders, her patrols growing longer and bolder as she grows comfortable moving solo. it seems today is not going to be a solo day, though, as she quickly spots the pale form. curiously the ginger teenager straightens up. the woman's unfamiliar to her - but blix recognizes her anyway, or at least - can hazard a guess; whisperings of the fos goufa's arrival had made rounds quickly. 

intrigued, blix's patrol is temporarily abandoned as she approaches slowly, offering a soft chuff in greeting, her head politely lowered. there is an odd urge to be wary in her that she doesn't quite know what to do with and so she fights it down, instead waiting for the woman's reaction to her presence in polite but neutral silence.

Occasionally, she will run into another wolf of Drageda but most of her time is spent alone. The day has other plans for her, it seems, as a small wolves approaches her along the borders. She smells strongly of Drageda, so she does not have to worry, but she smells equally strong of Heda and the conclusion that this is one of her children is quick to solidify. She knew of the children before arriving in Drageda, back when others had come to her former home with news and messages. The information about the children hadn’t been met with the best of intentions but there is little the wolves of Trigeda can do lest the storm the borders of their coastal claim so very far away. It is a weakness that will get the woman killed and her reign will be over, handing the title to Ajatar. All she has to do is be patient.

Ajatar turns when the chuff is made and she offers her a bit of a snort in response but she remains silent. The child adjusts her posture, seemingly knowing of what her title is despite the newness in her home. She gives her a slight turn of her head, curiously beckoning her closer anyway.

 blix knows, in a way, that her origins are unusual, but it does not occur to her that they are problematic, or that her very existence may be met with scorn. and so she is oblivious to the fos goufa's thoughts as she approaches (and good thing for atajar!), posture relaxing slightly. "hello," the guardian spirit greets, nice and proper, "can i join you? i'm blix, by the way." her tail wags once - she likes having company at the borders in all honesty - but otherwise she remains still, still seizing up the situation on both ends.

The girl is polite and wastes no time introducing herself. The names of the aforementioned children have mostly escaped her but the familiarity is there if only to confirm her original suspicions. She does not use her relations to throw her weight around and Ajatar gives her a scrutinized once over before she nods her head once and offers a simple "Sha" in response.

"I am Ajatar," she introduces with a single swish of her tail that often threatens to rise. The illusion of power rests easily in her features but reality often battles her posture and now, in the land of Heda, she knows to be careful. A thoughtful gun rolls quietly in her chest as she moves again, expecting the girl to fall in step with her.

 the fos goufa's air makes her want to prickle, though she doesn't, at least outwardly. blix is not a particularly ambitious girl and it does not occur to her to wield her lineague like a cudgel. her desire for strength, for power is wholly invested in protecting her family and drageda itself and for that she does not need a high hierarchal position, nor is she interested in pursuing that. and she knows the importance of the fos goufa, knows the role this atajar is to play - and consequently, blix's own responsibility in protecting her as well - but her nomi is heda and her nomi is fine, and something about the woman's sudden presence suggests a time limit to those things that she does not like. 

blix frowns but falls into step with her with a "chof," - not behind her, beside her, a quiet rebellion. "you joined us pretty recently, right?" she asks innocently, her eyes (now almost fully amber!) on their surroundings as they patrol.

She is glad to hear their tongue come from the girl, if only briefly. There are enough outsiders in the walls of Drageda to put her on edge that she worries how the children they have will not get their proper treatment. Her evaluation of Blix may set the precedent for the others but she is curious enough to keep going, quietly prodding for information where she can.

The girl saddles up next to her and she gives her a curious glance before resetting her gaze on her original purpose on the borders. “Sha,” she says, dismissing the information. “Heda sent for me,” she adds though she does not elaborate more, uncertain what the girl truly knows of her title and what it means. She’d been comfortable in Trigeda closer to the leaders but in Drageda, even if she is of the same rank, she does not have the personal relations with anyone except for her brief friendship with Hux and Melchior.

 she has no reason to disbelieve atajar's words - and her nomi is an incredibly practical woman. she wonders if nomi sent for her during her illness, feeling freshly guilty at her negligence during that particular time, even if she's hopefully making up for it now. still, knowing atajar had been sent for rather than showing up on her own eases blix a little bit. just a little bit. "because you are fos goufa?" she asks anyway, then adds, "where are you originally from?" though she knows of the other claims she has not pressed for much information, and she might as well take advantage now.

Ajatar nods to the question though she can’t help the side eyed look at so many questions. Perhaps it is simple childish curiosity but there seems to be something else behind the meaning. She doesn’t want to think the worst of the situation but perhaps she is simply being protective of her family. Maybe she does not understand what it means to be Heda. The training it takes to take the position of commander. Thuringwethil had been young when she ascended, younger than most, but Ajatar has had longer training. Thuringwethil’s real life experience trumps many things on her own level but she knows she is better prepared for when the time comes.

“I was born in Maungeda but after a few weeks, I was moved to Trigeda to begin my training,” she explains, licking her lips and looking forward again. Her nose drops to the ground for a quick sniff before she marks the nearest tree with a fading scent.

 blix can tell  her questions are grating the fos goufa. part of her - a childish part - thinks good, but she doesn't want to push her luck. regardless of .. whatever conflicting thing she feels, the fos goufa is important and she knows one day she will be heda, not nomi. and blix will swear her loyalty to her and serve her gladly.

 until then, though. "right," she says, nodding seriously. she follows atajar's lead, adding her own mark to the tree. "what is your training like?" blix can't help but ask after a few moments of silent patrolling and marking - she's genuinely very curious!

She is given a few moments of silence (part of her knows it won’t last long) but perhaps her new company is simply falling into task of marking where needs to be marked and checking for sins of disruption. The borders are not often something she concerns herself with in her training—she simply knows how to do it—but there is nothing for her to do in the moment until things begin to settle. Eventually she will learn from the Heda herself but until she has her undivided attention—with or without her mate—she will be patient. She will train other areas others can help her with and it seems, in the meantime, she is to entertain a child.

“It is vigorous. It started when I could walk but I can’t say I remember that much,” she tells her. Mostly they pushed her around, tested her reflexes, kept her on her toes of survival and kept her secluded from anyone she may consider family. “But there is a lot of history to our pack, even before Thuringwethil, to learn, and to be physically prepared we are also trained to fight,” she adds. There is more but those are where she currently excels for one reason or another. “It is all to prepare me to take over one day. Or, if there are other fos goufas born between now and then, to be the strongest of them to lead.”

i love atajar omg

 it is interesting to blix, who has grown up immersed in this way of life but almost removed from it given the unusual circumstances of her birth, to listen to atajar speak. she knows a little about it, understands what fos goufa is, knows nomi has gone through intensive training and serves and incredibly special purpose. but there is, she realises, a difference between loyalty to nomi and to drageda - because drageda exists outside of nomi.

it is a tiny relevation. the earth does not shatter as she walks. 

but it is something.

"i see," she says, voice gone quiet. then, in an effort to distract herself, she adds, "i'm training too - with nomi, i mean. for mercenary." she knows her training must pale in comparison and she does not mean it boastfully, but shuffles her feet, hoping the fos goufa will understand her.

Nomi.

Ajatar snorts a little as the girl speaks but it is quiet and subtle, hopefully disguised enough to be overlooked. It does not surprise her to hear she is training with Heda but hearing the girl call her mom is surreal. Knowing about the family, the mateship and children, is much different than interacting them. Generations of one way of life settle deep in their bones and traditions are hard to change. Thuringwethil may not be the first commander to have a family but something always happens to them and it is times like these that the danger of family is all it takes to knock it down.

She doubts there will be a commander with a family for generations to come.

“I bet she is a good mentor,” she comments though her words hold no value. “We should spar sometime.”

whatever dispargaing thoughts the fos goufa has about her nomi and her family go unnoticed. blix has never thought of herself as a threat to drageda's way of life; she is, after all, disinterested in taking a position of power in their ranks and has always to her knowledge been treated as any other child would. of course she has no way of knowing if that's true or not but what would that matter to her?

"she is!" the ginger chirps instead, and brightens immediately at ajatar's offer. "sha -- that would be super cool!" ajatar has gone through similar training as nomi which means she must be very strong like nomi is - a valuable sparring instructor, indeed. secretly she hopes ajatar means right now but suspects that isn't the case, and so casts a little bit of a furtively longing look at the white furred woman.

Would you like to fade here?

She shouldn’t have expected less of a response but the corners of her lips twitch but fall still after a second of silent reprimand. The girl also agrees to a spar and Ajatar gives her a single nod of her head. The anticipation is palatable between them but she does not give into it. Instead, she walks diligently alongside the borders and continuing to mark in relative silence.